About

Dr. Kelly Cairns, DVM, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), is a board-certified small animal internist, veterinary educator and medical strategist. Across two decades of clinical practice, multi-hospital leadership and academia, her work has centered on one question: how to build the programs, systems and learning environments that help veterinarians deliver excellent care throughout their careers.

Today Dr. Cairns is Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine, where she teaches clinical medicine and helps design the preclinical curriculum, and Education Specialist and Curriculum Consultant to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore School of Veterinary Medicine as it builds a new three-year veterinary program. She is Chief Programs Officer and a board member of the Canine Stroke Foundation. Through Dr. Kelly Cairns Consulting, she advises veterinary schools, practice organizations and industry partners on curriculum, competency-based education, clinical quality and leadership development.

From 2021 to 2025, Dr. Cairns was Vice President of Medical Excellence & Education at Thrive Pet Healthcare, where she built the function from the ground up for roughly 400 general practice, emergency and specialty hospitals: clinical quality initiatives, an enterprise education platform, competency frameworks, house officer programs and mentorship at scale. Earlier, she led a national portfolio of 15 specialty and emergency hospitals, launched a new referral hospital in the Chicago area and practiced as a staff internist.

Named LMU's 2025–2026 Non-Resident Teacher of the Year, Dr. Cairns speaks nationally on internal medicine, veterinary education, mentorship and leadership, including at ACVIM, AAVMC, Fetch dvm360, VCA Canada, Viticus Group, Veterinary Growth Partners, FelineVMA and ISVMA. She is President of the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association, serves on the dvm360 Editorial Board and is a member of the National Academies of Practice. She appears regularly on television, radio and podcasts, including as resident veterinarian on 19 Cats and Counting.

She earned her DVM summa cum laude from Colorado State University, completed a rotating internship at Cornell University and her residency and MS at The Ohio State University, and holds a Certificate in College Teaching from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Cairns lives in Naperville, Illinois, with her family, including a very loved (and very poorly mannered) Labrapittie mix and a gigantic orange cat. Outside of her professional roles, she enjoys distance running and the science of brewing the perfect cup of tea.

For a full list of roles and credentials, see Experience & Credentials.